Rei Will You Dance With Me?
by Midnight Lost
Summary: What happens between Shinji and Rei after their Valintines School Dance? How will it affect them at Nerv?
1. Chapter 1

-1Rei; Will You Dance With Me?

By: shinjitheassassin

Authors Notes: Well, for a long time now I've wanted to do a good Rei and Shinji fic, and seeing Valentines Day is coming up, what better time. This fic was inspired by Axel Terizaki's fics, Asuka, Will You Dance With Me? And its sequel Shinji, Will You Dance With Me? If you are interested in reading these two fics and cant find them online, let me know and I will send them to you.

A cool breeze blew through the classroom, while previous to the Second Impact, this kind of weather would have been unusual, this was considered normal weather for February. The students chatted idly amongst themselves as the teacher continued to drone on about life before Second Impact. A blue haired girl sat in her seat, staring out the window. Leaves danced in the wind, almost as if they were alive and moving on there own. While not really paying attention to the teacher she still listened to his words in case he may reveal something she already didn't know. Soon she started to let her thoughts wander. She couldn't place it, but every time this time of year, she always felt there was something missing, something she couldn't put her finger on. What was it exactly that she was missing, all she lived for was to pilot Eva and follow the commanders orders. She was content with this, but the thought still nagged at her mind, what exactly was she missing and needed? Though it had only seemed like a few minutes, it in fact was hours. She started as the final bell rang, she had become so deep in her thoughts she didn't even realize what time it was. Slowly she got up from her seat and grabbed her books, shoving them in her pack, and exited the class room.

Shinji had noticed her depth in thought and was worried, he had known his fellow pilot for nearly a year, but had never seen her this deep in thought. Grabbing his own pack he took off after her, leaving behind the red haired second child. It wasn't long before he caught up to the first child at his hurried jog.

"Ayanami" He called out. The blue haired girl stopped and turned to him, her red orbs looking at him.

"Yes, pilot Ikari?" she asked in her mono tone voice.

"I…I.. was…" he stumbled over his words before finally making a complete sentence. "That is, I… noticed you were lost in thought in class."

"Yes Ikari, I was pondering many things." she simply answered

"Are you alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, because; I..I never seen you so lost in thought before…..I guess I was just worried something was bothering you."

"I am fine, there is no need for your concern Ikari." with that she turned to leave but was stopped.

"Wait, Ayanami, um I was wondering if…." he never got to finish.

"ANTA BAKA! Why did you just leave me behind?" a furious red haired girl asked as she stormed up to him.

"Goodbye Ikari." Rei said and turned and left feeling the conversation had ended.. Shinji could only look on with concern; then pain as Asuka hit him on the back of the head.

"OW! What was that for?"

"For leaving me behind you idiot!" stated the red head and walked off ahead of him. Shinji looked forward, but not at the one who had just assaulted him. He watched as Ayanami disappeared down the street and sighed, maybe tomorrow would be different, he hoped and with a sigh followed after Asuka.

The two made it home, though Shinji was on the breaking point as Asuka yammered the entire way that she was still the best pilot, and most popular girl in school. As soon as he opened the door to the apartment he quickly hurried to his room, where he could shield himself from the constant ego trip Asuka was on. He slid his bedroom door shut and dropped his bag on the floor, not bothering with the books. Grabbing the SDAT off his night stand and placed the buds in his ears before hitting the play button, allowing himself to get lost in the soft music that flowed through the ear pieces. As he tried to relax, thoughts of the first child slowly crept into his mind. What was it that she was thinking so hard about? Did something happen that he didn't know about? More questions followed, none of which he had the answer for, he had wanted to walk home with her. Maybe they would have had a better chance to talk, but Asuka had saw to the end of that. Shinji frowned at that, while Asuka was gorgeous no doubt but her personality destroyed any feelings he may have had for her. Shaking the thoughts of the second child from his mind, he once again returned to the first child. With his final thoughts he feel into a short slumber, exhausted from the days events.

Morning came, a little too early for Asuka as a shower of german curse words could be heard being shouted at the rising sun. Shinji was already up preparing breakfast and fixing his and Asukas lunch. Soon the two were off, Asuka angrily complaining that they were going to be late, even though it was her fault, she continued to place the blame on Shinji. It wasn't long before they reached the school. Shinji was glad as Asuka parted to catch her friend. Letting out a sigh of relief he turned and entered the class room, first taking a glance over to the desk by the window, he felt his heart sink for some reason when he saw that the first child wasn't there. With a more depressed sigh he turned to move to his own desk, until a soft voice startled him from behind.

"Good morning, Ikari" greeted Rei.

"Oh.. G -g-good morning Ayanami." he stuttered, returning her greeting as she walked passed him, taking her seat at her desk. Shinji smiled, for some reason, he was happy that she was here, for that matter; he felt happy every time he looked at her, but he didn't know why.

"Stop starring you pervert" came a harsh voice from behind him, it was Asuka. Closing his eyes he mumbled something, deciding to ignore her he simply just turned and walked to his seat, sitting down. This caused Asuka to fume, as she glared at him 'How dare he ignore me like that!' she thought to herself as she took her own seat.

Class resumed as usual, nothing too much out of the ordinary. Rei once again, feeling that nagging feeling dove into her thoughts, still trying to find the answer to her questions. What was she missing? Her thoughts were soon interrupted as the class rep placed a pink paper on her desk. Rei curiously looked at the person who had just delivered the paper then to the paper itself. Picking it up she read it over and saw that it was advertising a school dance, for the upcoming Valentines Day, only a week away. She didn't understand this, as to why people made a big deal out of single days throughout the year, what were their purpose? Setting down the paper she continued to stare out the window. Again the school day ended, seeing each of the children leaving the campus. This time Shinji left first, as he was hoping to be able to talk to Ayanami again, this was his chance, as Asuka was going home with Hikari. He didn't have to wait long as the azure haired girl exited the building.

"Ayanami"

"Yes, pilot Ikari?"

"Um.. I was… wondering " he stumbled over his words again, like the previous day, clenching his fist, he summoned the courage to finish " I was wondering if I could walk home with you"

Rei pondered this for a moment as she looked at him, feeling her cheeks become warm as she blushed some. This was an unusual request coming from the third child. What was the purpose of him walking home with her, it was out of the way and would take him longer to get to his own residence.

"Why?" she asked.

"Well…. I.. its just that….. it's a nice day." he said quickly, coming up with an excuse. Truth was he didn't know why he wanted to walk with her. They wouldn't have much of a conversation. Rei once again pondered his answer. This was true, it was a pleasant day out.

"Yes" she answered him and turned , starting to walk away. It took a few seconds for Shinji to realize she had answered his question, rushing to catch up. There was silence for about half way to her apatment, Rei once again lost in her thoughts as she walked. At this time, she felt….. Comfortable, the nagging feeling of needing something wasn't present now.

"Are you going to the dance Ayanami?" Shinji ventured, trying to start up a conversation. Immediately he wanted to kick himself, Why did he ask about the dance? This was Rei.

"No." she simply answered.

"Why not?"

"Who would I go with?" she asked. This did prove a point, Shinji couldn't think of any of the boys at the school who would be brave enough to talk to Ayanami, let alone ask her to a dance.

"I guess your right" he replied.

"Are you going?" she asked, returning his question back to him. Completely catching him off guard as he began to blush.

"Um, no" he quickly answered.

"Why?" she continued to turn his own questions against him.

"Well, same as you I guess, no one to go with." he replied, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"What about the second child?"

"I don't really like her that much." he answered "Besides, she is going with someone else."

"What about me? Do you like me?" she caught herself off guard at these questions. Why did she ask this? Her cheeks began to burn as she blushed in embarrassment . Shinji face turned red enough to match her crimson eyes.

"Well, I.." he stuttered, but somehow found the courage to answer he straight "Yes"

It was at this time that they had reached her apartment, Rei turned and looked at him.

"Thank you for accompanying me home" she said and entered her apartment, still blushing as she closed the door. She didn't know what else to say. For some reason Shinji knew she wasn't being rude. Walking away he made his way home. Going over everything that happened in his mind. In roughly thirty minutes he arrived home. Entering the apartment he closed the door behind him and leaned on it, still lost in his thoughts, and of course still blushing.

"What are you blushing for?" Misato teased him. Breaking him out of his thoughts.

"N-n-nothing!" he quickly stammered.

"Its something alright!" his guardian shot back with a smile. "So tell me, what happened between you and Asuka" she had assumed it was their other roommate.

"Nothing!" he answered again. "Its just that Ayanami…" he stopped and blushed even more.

"Oh! Getting close to Rei are we?" she teased.

"Its not like that!"

"Then what is it like?" the woman persisted.

Shinji sighed, he was stuck, he was going to have to spill everything out, just to get her to leave him alone.

"Well, its just that, I think she asked me to the school dance."

"SHE DID WHAT!" Misato exclaimed. This would have been a very unusual thing for the first child to do.

"I don't know if she did though, we were…..talking about it, that's all."

"You don't know?" this confused the older woman

"No"

"Well you should make sure" though she rarely did, Misato offered good advice this time. He did need to make sure. This excited him. But why?

"I will tomorrow" he replied, more confidence in his voice. Feeling tired he moved to his room and laid down, not bothering with his SDAT this evening. Again, his mind wandered to Rei, he couldn't shake that this afternoon she was acting, different.

Meanwhile, across the city Rei laid on her belly in her bed, using her arms as pillows. A pink piece of paper lay on her desk. She had saved the flyer, for what reason she didn't know, but that wasn't what was on her mind. Why had she asked Ikari that question? Did she like him? She knew that he liked her. Then another question came to mind.

'If he likes me, can he love me?'

This thought made her blush again, these feelings were new to her, and they interrupted her usual routine, Usually this would upset her, but now she didn't mind, she wanted to feel more of this. Could this be love? She had heard the word, but didn't understand its concept. It was irrational and illogical, making people do things that didn't make sense to her. She then began to question he feelings towards other people.

'Do I love Commander Ikari?' This thought didn't agree with her, 'No' she mentally answered her own question, she respected him and trusted him, that was all. He had shown concern from her, but she didn't feel any real emotion in his concern. His son was different, when they fought the fifth angel together he had put himself in harms way to rescue her from her entry plug, severely burning his hands in the process. That was when she first smiled, to anyone. Even before he knew her, he had shown concern during the attack of the third angel. Originally refusing to pilot but did so anyways. Was it to protect her she wondered. Her thoughts continued to come, as more and more questions surfaced, and were met with answered one at a time until finally she drifted off to sleep. Whispering the name of the third child she smiled as sleep over took her.

The next day passed without incident. Many of the students were excited about the upcoming dance, the school had not had one for three years. During class, Rei had chanced a few glances towards Shinji, though he didn't notice as he was busy jotting down notes from the teacher. When the final bell rang she had waited outside for him, as he gathered his belongings.

"Ikari." she softly called as he exited the building, grabbing his attention. "Would you like to accompany me home again?" she asked

Shinji could only nod at this time, caught off guard by her question, though he had planned to ask her the same thing. This would have been fine, except both Toji and Aida had overheard.

"WAY TO GO SHINJI! GETTING IT WITH REI!" Kensuke exclaimed, causing Shinji to blush some.

"Its not like that you guys." he quickly retorted.

"What ever, you two love birds have fun" Toji laughed. With that the two parted, leaving Shinji and Rei alone. Asuka once again had taken off to spend the day with Hikari picking out dressed and such for the dance, which suited Shinji just fine, he was enjoying the time away from her. As Rei began to walk, Shinji followed.

"So whats up Ayanami?" Shinji asked, once again trying to start a conversation with the girl.

"The sky." she answered, thinking his question was literal. Shinji couldn't help but laugh at this.

"What is funny Ikari?" she asked confused.

"Nothing, its just when someone askes 'Whats up' it meaning, 'how are you'" he said, trying to explain the meaning of the question as simply as possible. If he didn't know her better he would have thought she was making a joke.

"I. understand" she answered. Shinji then remembered what he and Misato had talked about the previous night, but he was unsure if he had the courage to do so. It was easy to say it last night but he wasn't sure of he would be able to do it. 'Target center, pull the switch' he mentally chanted to himself.

"Ayanami?" he began

"Yes Ikari?"

"I was wondering…that um, that is, if you would like to go to the dance with me?" he finally asked as he found more backbone. Rei stopped walking and turned to look at him.

"I thought we had already decided that yesterday Ikari" she said.

'So she did ask me yesterday' Shinji thought to himself. "Well, I uh, just wanted to make it official." he replied back.

Rei nodded. "Then yes. Yes I will" she answered, causing Shinji to smile. Finishing their walk to her apartment. "Thank you" she said and disappeared into her apartment. Closing it behind her she leaned against brining her right hand up to her cheek, feeling like it was on fire from her blushing so much. For some reason, she wanted to be around the young pilot even more. Moving over to her bed she laid down for awhile.

Shinji continued on to his own home. Still not believing he had actually summoned up the courage to ask a girl to a dance. He had never done anything like that. Soon he arrived back home, letting out a sigh as he entered the apartment, knowing full well the barrage of questions his guardian would no doubt be asking. Sure enough his fears came true.

"So did you ask her?" Misato excitedly asked as soon as he entered.

"Yes"

"And? What did she say?"

Shinji took a moment, more so to build the suspense in her, bowing his head some to give her the wrong impression. It worked.

"She said no?" the concerned guardian asked.

"No, she said yes" Shinji looked up with a big smile on his face

"That's great!"

"I'm tired so I am going to go to bed early tonight" Shinji yawned, he just wanted to get to the next day as soon as possible, just so he could see her again.

"Ok" Misato said as she watched her young ward walk down the hall and into his bedroom. Smiling to herself.

The next morning Shinji was in too much of a hurry that he didn't even bother to make Asukas lunch, he didn't even make breakfast for that matter as he hurried out the door. He was surprised to see Rei was waiting for him at the corner.

"Ayanami?"

"I thought it would be nice to walk to school together" she simply answered, though she was blushing. The two continued to walk to school, not really saying much, but then again they didn't need to, both were content being next to one another. The two arrived at school, getting some strange looks from some of the students but were dismissed as the two being together was just a coincidence. Entering the building Shinji was greeted by Toji and Kensuke, more so teased then greeted.

"I will talk to you later Ikari" Rei simply said and moved to her desk.

"Shinji, why do you have all the luck?" Kensuke asked, but was proven wrong when an angry red haired girl pushed between them.

"IDIOT! Why didn't you make breakfast this morning" she yelled at Shinji.

"I didn't feel like it" he answered

"So!"

"You can make your own food cant you?" Shinji shot back at her, becoming annoyed with her. He then turned away and took his seat at his desk. Rei had watched the whole thing, during this time something she didn't understand happened. She felt, angry at the second child. What was this feeling, anger she knew, but this wasn't as simple as that. Was this jealousy? It had to been, she was jealous that the second child had more time with Ikari, though she found comfort that her fellow pilot showed no interest in him, but why? Why did this comfort her? She contemplated these thoughts until lunch, when she was approached by the second child.

"So Wondergirl, are you going to the dance?" there was more sarcasm in her voice then curiosity.

"What business is it of yours?"

"Well I am." she ignored the first childs question. "I've already had six boys ask me." she gloated. "Too bad Wondergirl doesn't have anyone to go with."

"I am going" Rei answered.

"You need someone to go with, you cant just go by yourself, its unheard of" Asuka stated.

"I do have someone to go with."

"What? With who?"

"It is none of your business second child" Rei said, becoming annoyed by the others bragging and non stop ego trip. She wanted to end the conversation immediately. "I have tasks I must finish" she continued and walked away from the red haired girl, who was fuming….again. Rei walked only a few yards away when she saw Shinji eating his lunch with his two friends. A strange idea crept into her mind and she made her way towards them. As a shadow loomed over them, the three looked up to see Rei standing there.

"May I join you Ikari?" she asked.

"Um.. Sure." Shinji answered. Getting the answer she sat down, opening her own lunch, which wasn't much, looked more like a standard lunch with a sandwich, apple and a drink. Shinji saw this and frowned, no wonder she was so skinny. He then reached into his own lunch and brought out a small container and offered it to Rei.

"What is this?" she asked as she looked over the container.

"It was last nights dinner, pretty good. Its steamed rice with vegetables covered in sweet and sour sauce" he told her. Rei accepted the container and opened it, taking a cautious bite at first, noting its flavor.

"Its delicious." She complimented.

"Come on, lets leave the two love birds alone" Toji jested and pulled Kensuke away with him.

For the rest of the lunch break, Shinji and Rei ate together quietly, for the most part no one even noticed they were there. One did though. The red haired girl looked on at the two with despise. The lunch bell rang, signaling the students to hurry back to class. The rest of the school day seemed to pass without much incident, however Shinji could swear he felt someone glaring at him, he could only guess who. A feeling of gloom fell over him, today she would be coming home. He didn't have much time to think about this as the final bell rang. With a sigh Shinji got up from his desk and grabbed his pack, slinging it over his shoulder he walked out the door, followed closely by Asuka.

"So what was that during lunch?" she sneered at him.

"What was what?"

"You and Wondergirl being so close, when did this happen?"

"Why do you care?" Shinji spat. He wasn't alone with her for five minutes and she had already worked herself down to his last nerve. He would have probably said more, but was instantly calmed when he heard a cool voice.

"Hello Ikari" Rei was waiting for him outside.

"Hi, Ayanami" Shinji greeted her back, completely forgetting about Asuka standing there, until Rei said something to her.

"So. You two are going to the dance together." it was more of a statement then a question.

"Yes." Rei answered as Shinji remained silent. He knew Asuka wasn't going to live this down.

"I don't suppose you already have a dress to wear."

"Yes, I do" Rei answered. Shinji was taken aback by this. He had never known her to wear anything but her school uniform, and of course her plug suit. He was now more curious as to what she would look like in something else. Even more so, Asuka remained speechless, if it wasn't for her mono tone voice, she could have sworn Rei was answering with an attitude.

"Come on Shinji" Asuka scoffed "We need to get home"

Shinji sighed and looked at Rei, who was looking back at him, with almost pleading eyes not to go. Somehow he knew she didn't want him to go.

"I promised Ayanami I would walk her home" he stated, knowing he was only going to get it worse from Asuka later on, but it is worth it, he thought. With that both Rei and Shinji walked away from Asuka who stood there, flabbergasted . It took her a few minutes to regain her composure and continue home. Once there however she vented out on the poor guardian about how Shinji ditched her for Rei.

"THAT IDIOT! Why does he want to be with Wonder Girl of all people" Asuka continued.

"Your jealous!" Misato couldn't help but point out.

"WHAT?!, JEALOUS OF HER! YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"

"Why else would you be so bothered by this?" Misato had a point. "So what, he's taking Rei to the dance, arn't you already going with someone else anyways?"

Asuka shut up, becoming tired of arguing, and she didn't want to admit that her guardian made a valid point. She shouldn't care what those two did, she was already going with one of the other guys at school who had asked her to the dance. Stomping to her room, she slid her door shut, almost slamming it. She also didn't want to admit that, she was jealous of Rei. Letting out a long sigh, she slumped on her bed, laying down. It was a few hours before Shinji got him, Rei had invited him in for a while, this came across as unusual to Shinji but he accepted. They didn't do nothing special, just actually talked, holding a full conversation, it seemed Rei has had an interest in dancing.

Over the course of the next few days, this routine would continue, Shinji would leave early in the morning, meet with Rei and walk to school with her, and same on the way home. Placing Asuka completely out of the loop. Everyone at school noticed this change, some would snicker while others were glad. Asuka however was frustrated with this, but decided it best not to push the issue. During these days, Rei had become more and more familiar with her feelings, and how to express them.

Finally came the night of the dance. Shinji had left the apartment to meet Rei, while Asuka had gone on ahead, disappointed because the guy she originally said yes to had canceled on her, leaving her with only one option. Shinji arrived at Reis and knocked on the door hiding his hands behind his back, waiting for a reply. He was dressed in a pair of black slackers, a white dress shirt with a coat over it. Nothing to out of the ordinary of what he normally wore. He didn't have to wait long as Rei answered the door, looking stunning. She wore a dark blue dress, the neck line and sleeves made from a see through material. Along her neck the fabric was solid again, weaving an exotic design, same with the belly section of the dress. In her ears were silver earrings that looked like leaves. Shinji was at a loss of words as he looked her over, almost forgetting the gifts he had bought her.

"You look amazing." was all he could say.

"Thank you, Ikari."

"Um.. these are for you." he said, remembering what he had bought her. Brining his hands out from behind his back, one hand holding a heart shaped box, red in color wrapped in a velvet material; and the other a dozen red roses. Rei smiled as she accepted the gifts. Taking a moment to smell the roses before placing them in a empty glass that was on her desk, soon they were off, walking towards the school.

Everyone at the school was excited. The school had gone all out, actually hiring an official band to play in the auditorium for the students. Decorations were hung up everywhere, red hearts, pink hearts, card board cut outs of cupid on a string having from the ceiling. Complete with lights and even a disco ball in the center of the room, suspended no more the twelve feet in the air. At the far end of the room was a series of tables, with drinks and snacks on them. To the far right were chairs for the students to sit on when they got tired of dancing. As soon as Shinji and Rei entered the auditorium, every head turned, no one recognizing the blue haired girl that had just entered, her arm wrapped in Shinjis as a gentleman would normally escort a girl. The two made their way through the crowd of people to the chairs and sat down as they waited for the music to start playing, both were nervous, never having done anything like this before, but each others presence had given them strength to move on.. Soon the band started playing and couples all around the room started dancing, but the two remained there in their seats. There was something about the music that they couldn't quiet figure out, but it didn't seem right to dance to it. All of a sudden the room was filled full of germen curses as the infamous red haired girl stormed out, Kensuke following her; seemed he couldn't dance and ended up stepping on her feet. Both Rei and Shinji couldn't help but let a soft laughter escape their lips. At that time a song started playing, Shinji got up and turned to Rei, extending his hand to her.

"Rei, Will you dance with me?" he asked her. She didn't say a word as she accepted his hand and stood up, allowing him to lead her to the dance floor. Taking her in his hands, he brushed away all fear and let his feet do the walking. Though it was the first time either of them had danced they had no trouble keeping in time with each other or the music. As the music picked up its tempo, so did Shinji, as he twirled her around. One would think that they were professionals as the blocked out everyone around them, only focusing on each other, they didn't even notice that everyone else had stopped dancing to watch them as a spot light followed their every movement. Soon the song was over, but without a pause went into a slower song. The lights in the room dimmed creating an atmosphere. Shinji pulled Rei closer to him, holding her by her hips as she wrapped her arms about his neck, resting her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. She felt, comfortable in his arms, more secure then she had ever felt. For once, Shinji didn't feel scared as he danced with her. Rei lifted up her head and looked at him, gazing into his eyes, feeling them come closer. Shinji had done the same, trapped in her crimson eyes as the lights bounced off them as both of them drew closer together until finally their lips met, closing their eyes not knowing what exactly was going on, both following instinct and enjoying the moment. The room erupted with applause, throwing the two out of their trance as they looked around. Everyone was looking at them, clapping their hands.

"ALL RIGHT SHINJI!" came Tojis voice from somewhere in the crowd. The sudden focus of attention caused the two to blush furiously. Looking at each other they laughed and made their way off the dance floor. Having enough fun tonight they left.

Shinji didn't return home that night, instead he stayed with Rei the entire night. Both lay in the bed, holding each other, Reis dress lay on the floor along with Shinjis cloths. As the two lay there, Rei looked up to Shinji, kissing him again.

"I love you Shinji-kun" she smiled

"I love you too Rei-chan" he returned her smile, brushing his fingers through her hair.

Closing her eyes, Rei continued to smile, she now. This seemed right, the feeling she had only a week ago that she was missing something was now gone as she lay in Shinjis arms. Soon both slipped off into a peaceful sleep.

The same could not be said for Asuka, who after leaving the dance ran all the way home, only to find the house was locked. She had forgotten her key in her room as she rushed to get ready earlier that night. Misato had gone out with Kaji, accepting the fact that she still did love him. Leaving Asuka to wait outside, hoping that Shinji would be home soon to let her in. This of course was not to happen.

Fin

Additional Authors Notes: Well there it is, my first serious Shinji and Rei fic. I know it moved a little fast, but I wanted to get the ball rolling and have this up before Valentines Day. I hope everyone enjoyed it. Did Shinji and Rei unite? One body, one mind and one soul? I will leave that up to you to decide.

Disclaimer: No, I do not own, nor do I claim to own Neon Genesis Evangelion or any of its characters. They are property of Gainax and other respected owners.


	2. Chapter 2

Rei, Will You Dance With Me?

Chapter 2: Don't Cry

By: shinjitheassassin

Authors Notes: Well by popular request, I will continue this Shinji x Rei fic for fan service. As the actions in chapter one have already inclined, Rei will be more and more OOC, just fore warning. Anyways read on and hope you enjoy.

**WAFF WARNING**

Warning Will Robinson, Warning, Warm And Fuzzy Feelings are approaching, take precautionary measures. I repeat, Warm And Fuzzy Feelings are approaching, take precautionary measures!

Morning found the two cuddled close together, the light filtering in the small window slowly stirring the two awake as birds chirped outside. Groggily Shinji sat up on the side of the bed, rubbing his face trying to get the sleep out of his eyes. They didn't do anything that night, though the evidence of scattered clothing on the floor would suggest otherwise, they had simply found peace in each others arms allowing the rest of the world to melt away. For a moment he forgot where he was until he heard a soothing voice behind him.

"Morning Shinji-kun." Shinji smiled as he turned around and laid back down next to Rei, more awake now as he looked into the crimson eyes of the azure haired girl. Grasping her hand he leaned in and gave her a kiss good morning.

"Good morning Rei-chan." he smiled at her. Then a wave of sadness washed over his face. "I need to go home, before Misato starts a search party for me." he sighed, knowing his guardian too well. Rei let out a depressed sigh as well, she didn't want him to leave, but knew it was best that he did. Shinji got up and began hunting for his cloths, putting them on as he found them, he had slept in his boxers. Rei smiled again as she watched him pulling the blankets around her, she on the other hand had slept in the nude, mostly out of habit. Shinji finished getting dressed and sat down on the side of the bed again, leaning close to Rei, bringing his hand up, caressing her cheek as he kissed her again, this time good bye.

"If I don't see you later today, I will see you at school tomorrow." he spoke softly. Slowly standing up.

"I will come by and visit today." Rei smiled. With that Shinji returned her smile and walked out; leaving Rei alone with her thoughts. She had never felt this way before, her heart was racing and her face flushed as she laid back down in bed. _Could this be love? _ she thought to herself. _Do I love Ikari?_ The questions kept coming, but everyone that came it was the same answer. _Yes, I do love Ikari._ She smiled as she placed her arm in the warm spot where he had just been, a wave of loneliness washing over her as she did so. _I will see him again_ she reassured herself before closing her eyes, slipping back into a light sleep, reliving the events from the previous night.

_Previous Night (flash back)_

After the dance, the two had left, walking along the moonlit streets of Tokyo 3, not wanting to go home just yet. The night was still young, they didn't want to end it so soon, not after the connection they had made during the last dance. Holding hands they stopped in a small Italian style restaurant to get something to eat, neither of them had ate before they left for the dance. The host smiled at the two, already having an idea of what was going on between the two, showing them to a table for two, the two chairs were close together, leaving a set of menus for the two to order. It didn't take Shinji long to decide what he wanted, Rei on the other hand had a hard time choosing, having never been open to such a large number of options, but settled on a vegetarian alfredo dish. Their waitress came, took their orders, smiling at the two left to place them. They didn't have to wait long, as there were not very many people eating in. Within thirty minutes their food had arrived. Slowly the two began to eat, in silence at first not really knowing what to talk about. Their silence was soon broken by two men, one playing a violin while the other strummed a small guitar, singing in Italian, a slow, obvious love song. This caused the two to blush, being the sudden focus of attention, much like the dance. Rei was also a little scared, never been approached by strangers before. Shinji saw her begin to slightly shake, reaching over he grasped her hand, bringing her out of her fear as his touch soothed her. Looking over she saw Shinji smiling at her, she returned his smile. The two finished their meal. The musicians left. Paying the bill, Shinji left a large tip for the service they had received. Leaving the restaurant they two continued down the streets, it was only eight o'clock at night but they decided it was time to return home. Grasping her hand, Shinji and Rei walked together.

_(End Flashback)_

Shinji slowly made his way home, the morning air crisp in his lungs as he breathed it in, despite the slight chill in the air it was a good morning for walking. His hands in his pockets as he walked along, his thoughts replaying the previous nights events, the dance, the walk home, Rei. Everything around him seemed to fade away as his thoughts focused on the First Child. A feeling of dread fell over him as he realized that no doubt Toji and Aida would tease him mercilessly, and Ayanami too. Lost deep in his thoughts he didn't notice he was home until he ran into the door, literally. Rubbing his head he fumbled for the key in his pocket, finding it he unlocked the door. A soft whimper caught his attention, looking to his left he saw Asuka curled up in a ball along the wall asleep. She had been locked out all night, which meant Misato wasn't home either. Lucky for her the night hadn't been too cold. He let out another sigh, opening the door then moved over to where Asuka was, though he knew he would regret it he gently shook her shoulder, stirring her awake and was immediately accused of being a pervert and yelled at. But she held back from hitting him, as soon as she realized WHO had woken her up.

"BAKA! Where the hell were you last night?" she asked, infuriated of having to sleep outside. Storming into the apartment.

"I was with Ayana…." he froze as he saw Asuka eyes widen in shock.

"You slept with Wonder Girl?!" she exclaimed.

"No its not like that!" Shinji quickly defended himself, quickly trying to think of something to cover himself with. He knew she wouldn't accept the answer that he had just fallen asleep over there.

"YOU ARE A PERVERT!" she exclaimed. Shinji frowned at this. It was too early in the morning to face this kind of assault already, however he said nothing and brushed passed her heading into his room. Asuka fumed as he ignored her, and stormed off in her own room. Shinji didn't go back to bed, instead he proceeded to go about his morning activities, taking a bath before heading into the kitchen to cook breakfast. The smell didn't take long to find its way to Asukas nose, having not ate anything the previous night, her stomach growled. Finishing changing into some clean cloths she made her way out into the kitchen, bowing her head slightly.

"Shinji"

"Yes Asuka?" he didn't turn around to look at her as he continued to flip the eggs in front of him.

"I'm… I'm sorry for what I said." she nearly choked on the words, she didn't like apologizing but she still wanted to eat too, and wasn't sure if Shinji was still going to make enough for the two of them after the exchange of words in the hall way.

"Don't worry about it Asuka." he sighed "I'm used to it by now."

This caught Asuka off guard, had she really called him perverted so many times that he expects it from her? Needless to say she was at a loss of words, while Shinji continued to cook, before finally serving up two plates. Setting them down at opposite ends of the table. Sitting down in his chair he looked up at Asuka who was still standing at the entrance way.

"Are you going to eat?" this snapped Asuka out of her train of thought, and she hurried over to her plate. The two began to eat in silence before Shinji broke it again.

"So how was your night last night?" he asked, breaking the unsettling silence between them. Asuka scowled at him somewhat before her face softened, it wasn't his fault what had happened.

"Fine." she said, somewhat with an attitude, "Except that idiot Aida has two left feet and stepped on my foot." Shinji had to hold back a laugh at this, knowing full well what would happen if he let it escape his lips. "And how was your night with Wonder Girl." Asuka replied back, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Shinji held back is frown as he replied.

"Good, we only danced to two songs then left." he answered, a slight blush creeping into his face as he recounted the events in his mind.

"Two songs? That's it?" Asuka fumed. "So what did you two do then all night…. OH MY GOD DON'T TELL ME!"

"I already told you, its not like that, we stopped and got something to eat on the way back." he quickly defended himself. They finished eating in silence, cleaning up their spots. For the most part they didn't talk to each other the rest of the morning, not until Misato stumbled in around one in the afternoon, still suffering from her hang over from the previous night. None the less she proceeded with her normal routine, grabbing a beer from the fridge and sitting down at the table. Taking a big gulp, then doing her usual whoop.

"Afternoon Misato." Shinji sighed.

"How did your night with Rei go." she winked teasingly at him, causing the young boy to blush.

"It was……. Good." he replied.

"This idiot stayed the night at her place too!" Asuka quickly put in, "And I was locked out all night"

"YOU DID WHAT SHINJI" Misato exclaimed almost falling out of her chair. Ignoring the second part of what Asuka said.

"It wasn't like that." he found himself repeating this a lot this morning, as he glared at Asuka; who was smiling triumphantly. They three were interrupted by the door bell.

"I'll get it." Asuka stated and ran off to the door. They didn't have to wait long to see who it was.

"Hey idiot, Wonder Girl is here to see you!" Asuka called as she stomped into the kitchen. Misato grinned at Shinji as he walked to the door. Seeing Rei standing their, blushing a little.

"Shinji-kun, I was….wondering if you would like to go for a walk." she asked, nervously. This only gained more teasing from Misato.

"S-sure Rei-chan." he replied, wanting to get away from the apartment from being teased anymore. Asuka glared at the two as they left.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Misato called out.

"Don't you mean don't do anything you WOULD do?" Shinji shot back and hurried out the door before Misato could respond to the comment.

The two walked down the streets of Tokyo 3, not saying anything, just enjoying each others company. Shinji was still confused about some things, namely, were they dating now? Was Rei his girlfriend? He had to make sure. Unknown to him, Rei also had the same questions going through her mind.

"Um Rei-chan…. Will you…..be my girlfriend?" he asked, nervously. Rei stopped walking for a moment, looking at him. This caught Shinjis attention as he stopped and turned around, wondering if he was wrong for asking such a question. Rei studied his face for a moment before answering him.

"I thought we had already established that last night." she stated, though a very slight hint of sadness in her voice. Shinji thought for a moment before smiling as he took her hand into his, brining her closer to him.

"I just wanted to make it official." he replied. This brought a smile to Reis face, such expressions were rare on the girl, and she only shown them towards the pilot of Evangelion unit-01. He then leaned in, kissing her again for the second time since the dance. Breaking the kiss the two continued on the way, holding hands. They spent the remainder of the day together, not returning to Misatos till after dark, of course this only ensued more teasing from Misato, thankfully Asuka wasn't around. She had left earlier that day to spend the night at Hikaris. Shinji proceeded to make two cups of tea for himself and Rei while Misato grabbed another beer, the three then gathered at the table, Shinji and Rei sitting closer together while Misato sat at the end looking over the two.

"So how did the dance go Rei?" the major asked.

"It was very pleasant." the blue haired girl answered, taking a sip of her tea. "The same can not be said for the second child." she added.

"What happened with Asuka?"

"Aida kind of stepped on her foot while they were dancing." Shinji began to explain, "So she left the dance early."

"Oh, before I forget, this came for you Shinji." Misato said as she got up from the table walking over to the kitchen counter where a large yellow envelope lay. Picking it up she slid it across the table to Shinji. "Well, I am going to bed, you two behave." she said with a wink, gaining an exhausted sigh from the third child while Rei only nodded. With that Misato retired to her room, leaving the two alone in the kitchen.

"What is that Shinji-kun?" Rei enquired about the envelope in Shinji's hands. Instead of vocally answering her question he proceeded to open it, pulling out pictures, the pictures that they had taken at the dance. Both smiled and blushed a little. They were…… happy in the pictures. Rei in her elegant dress and Shinji in his suite.

"Here Rei-chan" he said as he took one of the pictures and gave it to her. "You can put it in your apartment." he smiled. This caused Rei to blush even more.

"Thank you Shinji-kun." she replied.

"Its getting late, would you like me to walk you home?" he asked, noticing the time on the wall. 9:32pm.

"That would be pleasant" Rei replied with a smile, then a thought came to her. _ I will be alone tonight_. This saddened her, the feeling of loneliness., turning to Shinji she took in a deep breath, nervous. "Shinji-kun I was…… wondering if you would stay with me again tonight?" a hint of fear in her eyes of rejection. Shinji was caught off guard by this question as he blushed furiously, he then noticed how his silence was making her feel and smiled.

"Sure Rei-chan, let me get some clean cloths for tomorrow." he replied. Moving to his room, he grabbed his pack, and placed a set of cloths in for him to wear tomorrow. Securing his pack he left his room, meeting Rei at the entrance way. Slinging his pack over his shoulder he took Reis hand and walked out the door, locking it behind him. The two continued on their way to her apartment. Rei experienced a large sense of relief that Shinji had agreed to stay with her again. She couldn't fully explain it, that being with him made her feel secure. She knew it was love but she still couldn't define what love was. She decided for the time being to ignore that line of thought as they got to her apartment door. Opening it the two entered, Shinji set his pack at the foot of her bed while Rei proceeded to start a shower. She then returned to the room Shinji was in.

"Would you like to shower?" she asked.

"Y-yes please." he answered as he got up from his spot. Grabbing a clean pair of boxers out of his pack. He headed into the bathroom, before he could turn around to close the door he gasped in surprise as Rei was behind him, undressing herself.

"Wh-what are you doing Rei-chan?" he asked in shock.

"I am showering with you." she stated as she looked up at him.

"But why?"

"It will save time." she simply stated. "Do you not wish to shower with me?"

Shinji thought for a moment, then conceded with a smile as he closed the door and proceeded to undress himself. Rei had already stepped into the shower, allowing the warm water to caress down her back _Why did I want to shower with Shinji-kun? _she asked her self mentally as Shinji stepped in behind her, closing the shower door. It was a tight fit as the shower wasn't very big, no more then a stall shower at Nerv. This of course forced them to remain close to each other, the water running over both of them. It was at this time Rei was able to get a good look at Shinji's body. She found his clothing hid a lot, he was actually very toned despite his lean figure, probably more so from piloting Eva these passed months. This caused her to blush again to the point of averting her eyes for a second. Shinji also took in Reis body as she stood before him, though he made his best effort not to allow his eyes to wonder too much, though it had failed, horribly. The water cascading over her body, following her curves, made her all the more appear very sexy with her wet hair, partly covering one of her eyes. They stared at each other for a moment, unconsciously drawing closer together. Soon their faces where no more then an inch from each others. Closing their eyes the closed the gap, allowing their lips to meet. An electric spark went through both of their bodies. Rei let out a surprised moan as Shinji parted her lips, allowing his tongue to slip into her mouth, snaking around her own. It didn't take long for her to learn what to do and soon she followed suit. Their hands caressing over each others body, but still being respectful to certain areas on each other, neither one not wanting to cross any lines. This was enough for them, there was no need to rush. They continued this for nearly an hour, the bathroom filling up with steam. They had completely forgotten about actually taking a shower as they were caught up in their activities. They didn't stop there however, turning off the shower they left the bathroom, and landed on her bed, in between kissing they had managed to pull the covers over them as they cuddled closer together, until finally they drifted off to sleep.

Both of them were awake by 6am, getting ready for school, they opted to take their showers separately so as not to have a repeat of what happened last night. After they were both done, taking each others hand they walked out the door and towards school. Shinji was feeling a sense of dread that began to show on his face.

"What is wrong Shinji-kun?" Rei asked.

"Nothing really, just thinking how much Toji and Kensuke will be teasing us." he replied. Surprisingly Rei let out a soft laugh, this calmed Shinji. They finally reached school and were immediately met by Toji and Kensuke.

"Way to go Shinji, getting it with Ayanami!" Kensuke exclaimed.

"What does 'getting it' mean?" Rei asked Shinji, causing him to blush some. He leaned over and whispered the answer in her ear. She then turned to them and answered. "Yes, he has been getting it from me" she replied in a serious tone before Shinji had a chance to answer. Shinji had only explained to her that it meant that they had slept together. Both Toji and Kensuke fell over in shock. This was when Hikari and Asuka came up, both looked curiously at the two twitching on the ground then to Shinji and Rei.

"What happened?" Hikari asked.

"It appears they needed to rest." Rei answered in her quiet voice. Hikari then took more notice to the two in front of her, seeing them holding hands.

"Are you two dating?" she asked with a sly smile.

"Yes we are." Shinji smiled, he felt proud when he answered. Hikari gushed while Asuka glared at him and stormed off into the school.

School didn't last very long for the pilots. During class their cell phones went off, a hysterical major on the other end informing them that a ride was being sent to pick them up to take them to Nerv. Hanging up the children grabbed their packs and ran out the door, getting outside just in time to see a black SUV pull up. Getting inside they were sped off to Nerv. Once there they were ushered into the locker rooms to change into their plug suits and scurry to their Evas. Once all three pilots were in their Evas Misato opened up the com screen.

"Can you all hear me?" Misato spoke.

"Yes" the three replied

"We are sending you all the data we have on the target, that is literally all that we have at this time." the major informed the pilots "Proceed with caution, and if possible try to lure it outside the city."

With that the Evas were launched towards the surface. Each sent to its designated area. Approaching the large floating sphere with caution. Shinji was the first to get to his, peering around the building with his Eva he observed the Angel.

"Ayanami? Asuka? Are you in position?"

"Not yet." came Rei's quiet voice.

"You know an Eva cant move that fast you twit."

A few more seconds passed before Shinji asked again. Receiving no answer he clinched and unclenched his fist. 'Fine, I'll do it myself' he thought to himself, leaning out he aimed the Eva's pistol at the sphere and fired three shots, the sphere disappeared.

"PATTERN BLUE CONFIRMED, ITS AN ANGEL!" 

"Where!?" Misato looked to the screen.

"Its under Unit 01!"

Shinji looked down to see the shadow forming below him, slowly sucking him into it, lowering the pistol he shot into the void but it was futile. He sank deeper and deeper into the void. Misato had ordered both remaining Evas to move in to rescue the sinking Eva but they had failed, not getting there in time.

"SHINJI" Misato screamed as the rest of Evangelion unit 01 went under. Sobbing she issued the retreat command to the remaining two.

"But Shinji and Unit 01.…." Rei trailed off.

"That's an order." Misato firmly said, holding back her sobs. For the first time in her life, Rei hesitated to follow orders, but finally withdrew.

Later That Night

"Your going to do WHAT?" Misato exclaimed at the blonde haired woman.

"We are going to drop the remaining 992 N2 mines into the shadow, which should destroy the Angel."

"But the damage to Eva would be…. Shinji would be… What the hell kind of rescue operation is this?"

Rei had overheard the plan and sharply inhaled in shock, fear overtaking her at the thought of loosing he who was most precious to her, clutching her chest she lowered her head, walking over towards the wall near where the second child was. Leaning against the wall she lowered her head even more, holding back the tears that threatened to come out. Then she over heard the second child, once again berating Shinji, even when he wasn't here to defend himself. _'Shinji may not be able to defend himself right now, but I can defend him'_ she thought to herself, pushing herself up from the wall, standing behind Asuka.

:"What are my comments about Shinji pissing you off Wonder Girl?" Asuka spat. She received her answer.

**WHACK!**

The sound echoed across the ground, everyone within earshot turned to see what had caused it. Misato at first thought that Asuka had slapped Rei, it was the reverse. Asuka was holding the side of her face where Rei had slapped her.

"Yes, they are Second Child" Rei answered, she was unable to hide the anger in her voice.

"That's enough you two, Asuka's right, Shinji acted arbitrarily." Misato said, finally regaining her composure after seeing the sight. "I guess I will just have to punish him when he gets back"

Rei almost turned her glare to the major before realizing that the real purpose behind the womans words were to comfort herself, making her believe that he would return. _'Yes, Shinji will return'_. Looking out into the black sea the now covered the city, she whispered his name. "Shinji"

Inside Evangelion Unit 01

"Its been twelve hours since I went to life support mode." Shinji spoke to himself, turning on the Eva again to see any changes outside, there were none. "Nothing but white noise." Despite his situation, his thoughts were focused more on Rei. In this time, she gave him the strength to endure, to see her again. At the same time he thought of this, he became sad. "What if I don't make it out?" he asked out loud looking at his watch. "In a few hours everything will give out and I will…..die." He paused at his last word, he didn't want to die, not now; not when everything was beginning to look up for him. And now this. He regretted his foolish behavior hours ago, he had let Asuka get to him and now he was paying the price. He then felt another presence near him.

"Whose there?"

"Ikari Shinji." a voice answered

"That's me."

"I am you."

"I am you. One has another self within oneself. The "self" always consisted of two selves. "

"Two?"

"The self who is actually watched by others and the self which watches itself. Ikari Shinji in your mind. Ikari Shinji in Katsuragi Misato's mind. Ikari Shinji in Soryuu Asuka's mind. Ikari Shinji in Ayanami Rei's mind. Ikari Shinji in Ikari Gendou's mind. Each Ikari Shinji is different from the others, but each of them is a true Ikari Shinji." the voice continued.

"Ayanami! I need to go to her!"

"Why?" the voice asked.

"She's…..she's calling me" Shinji said softly, he didn't know how he know, all he knew was that he knew.

"She means a lot to you doesn't she." another voice asked, a female voice.

"YES!, she's my life…. I piloted Eva for her so she wouldn't have to." he cried, almost in tears.

"Well, that's good for you." the female voice said again. Though he couldn't see it, Shinji felt the source of the voice was smiling.

Tokyo 3

"Both Evas standing by at operating position." Shigeru reported.

"Ready to generate AT Fields" Maya put in..

"Sixty seconds before drop"

Suddenly the ground began to shake violently, cracks ripping through the giant shadow that held the city., parts of it up heaving as the sphere in the sky above it began to lose its shape, changing from its zebra stripped colors to all black. Rei looked up at it, with excitement knowing who it was. A blood covered hand broke out of the sphere and continued to rip it in half, spraying blood everywhere.

"Is that what I am piloting?" Asuka asked in fear, seeing the terrifying form of Evangelion Unit 01 dropping to the ground, completely covered in blood.

"God in heaven, what kind of monster have we created" Ritsuko swore softly.

"ABORT BOMB DROP!" Misato ordered before it was too late.

Rei looked on from her Eva, a smile creeping across her face of joy, despite the Evas terrifying appearance she knew he was alive, and that's all that mattered to her. Her smile did not go unnoticed however, Ritsuko had been observing the screen and noticed Reis smile, a wave of uneasiness coming over her, the girl had never smiled, not even for the commander.

They finally got Evangelion Unit 01 back into its cage, after it had finally shut down, luckily it wasn't full berserk. Finally they ejected its entry plug. Lowering it onto the floor where Misato and the two pilots waited, Asuka there more so to chew him out rather then welcome him back. As soon as the plug touched the ground Misato was about to run forward to it when she felt herself pushed aside as a smaller female form flew passed her, barely catching her balance she looked on in surprise as the blue haired pilot opened the entry plug, half near jumping in. Grasping onto the pilot inside.

"Shinji-kun!" Rei cried and she held him, not able to hold back the tears that she had fought for so long since the ordeal began.

"Don't cry, Rei-chan" Shinji weakly responded as he brought his hand up, caressing the side of her face."I just wanted to see you one more time." he whispered. She took her hand and held his there as he slipped unconscious, completely worn out.

"Well, weren't you going to punish him." Asuka remarked at a stunned Misato.

"As soon as I recover from shock and see a therapist" Misato said softly, like she had just gone crazy. Never in her life did she imagine being pushed out of the way by the First Child, Asuka maybe, but never Rei.

Shinjis eyes flickered open. Finding himself laying down, looking up at an all too familiar ceiling. The only difference was he felt something on his chest, something weighing him down. Raising up just a little not to disturb the item in question he looked down to see a pair of crimson eyes looking up at him, smiling at him. He returned her smile.

"Good morning Shinji-kun" she said, before giving him a chance to reply back she covered his mouth with her own, almost straddling him as she did so. He was more then happy to return the attention back to her. After a moment they broke the kiss, Rei regaining her composure asked "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine, I was just tired is all." he answered.

"Good." Rei smiled again. "Then we will go out tonight."

Shinji just laughed and agreed. Getting up out of the bed he made his way over to the shelf that held his clothing. Seeing this Rei left the room to give him the privacy to dress, only to see Asuka at the doorway who quickly jumped out of the line of sight. The smile on Reis face was gone, but inwardly she laughed at Asuka for being embarrassed. Shinji had saw this too, but laughed out loud as the door shut, leaving Asuka outside fuming.

"I never seen Eva look as horrifying as it did yesterday" the blonde haired woman spoke to the man next to her as the two watched the various technicians begin to hose off the giant bio-mech. "Are they on our side or do they hate us?" she continued. The man beside her said nothing.

"I also think that Misato may suspect something" she said

"Let her be for now" the man replied.

"Also there is a situation with Rei."

This caught the mans attention. "What situation?"

OUTTAKES

From Chapter 1:

"Rei, Will you dance with me?" he asked her. She didn't say a word as she accepted his hand and stood up, allowing him to lead her to the dance floor. Taking her in his hands, he brushed away all fear and let his feet do the walking. Though it was the first time either of them had danced they had no trouble keeping in time with each other or the music. As the music picked up its tempo, so did Shinji, as he twirled her around. One would think that they were professionals as the blocked out everyone around them, only focusing on each other, they didn't even notice that everyone else had stopped dancing to watch them as a spot light followed their every movement. Soon the song was over, but without a pause went into a slower song. The lights in the room dimmed creating an atmosphere. Shinji pulled Rei closer to him, holding her by her hips as she wrapped her arms about his neck, resting her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. She felt, comfortable in his arms, more secure then she had ever felt. For once, Shinji didn't feel scared as he danced with her. Rei lifted up her head and looked at him, gazing into his eyes, feeling them come closer. Shinji had done the same, trapped in her crimson eyes as the lights bounced off them as both of them drew closer together until finally their lips met, closing their eyes not knowing what exactly was going on, both following instinct and enjoying the moment. The room erupted with applause, throwing the two out of their trance as they looked around. Everyone was looking at them, clapping their hands.

"ALL RIGHT SHINJI!" came Tojis voice from somewhere in the crowd. The sudden focus of attention caused the two to blush furiously. Rei then smiled at Shinji.

"Please wait here, I am going to request a song to be played." she explained and made her way towards the stage where the band was taking a break. Getting the lead singers attention she spoke to him momentarily, with a nod the singer told the band what was requested.

"What song did you request?" Shinji asked as Rei returned.

"A good song." she replied, "Something more lively."

Soon the band began playing again, the sound was different, harder. As the rest of the gym realized what song was being played they went wild, starting mosh pit in the center of the room while others banged their head throwing up their hands showing the metal sign. Rei was also doing this as the band continued to play Panteras Cowboys from Hell. Shinji stared on as he watched the usually quiet girl beside him bang her head to the music and could help but laugh inwardly to himself, who knew that Rei Ayanami liked heavy metal. Not wanting to be left out he joined in with her.

Authors Notes: Well, as stated above, I decided to continue this fic a little bit longer by popular request, though I think chapter 3 will be the last in the Trilogy. I do hope everyone enjoyed it, especially Rei slapping Asuka. Yes I did change some of the events and dialogue from the 12th angel but that's ok right? Also, for the life of me I cant remember where the fic was that I read but I borrowed the "getting it" part from it as I found it humorous.

Disclaimer: I've said it before and I will say it again so there is no confusion. I do not own Evangelion or its characters in any way, shape or form. They are property of Gainax and all other respected affiliates.


	3. Chapter 3

-1Rei, Will You Dance With Me?

Chapter 3: Forever

By: Midnight Lost

Authors Notes: Well here it is, the final conclusion to the Rei, Will You Dance With Me? Trilogy. I would like to thank everyone for their support throughout this fic. For those curious I do plan on doing a more lengthy Shinji/Rei fic, so be on the look out for that. Without any further delay here it is, chapter 3.

Disclaimer: I'm just going to put this up here. No I do not own Evangelion nor any of its characters. They are property of their respected holders and in no way what so ever am I trying to claim any type of owner ship.

A few days had passed since the last Angel attack. Shinji had recovered immediately, and held to his promise, taking Rei out that night when he was released from the hospital. He hardly ever stayed at home anymore, Misato had been constantly teasing him that he had moved into Rei's apartment with her. Asuka had been ragging on him constantly accusing him of doing perverted things with Rei. In which of course he denied. Tonight was different for him. He was with Rei again. The two of them were walking down the sidewalks, window shopping. They stopped in front of one of the very few jewelry stores in the city, admiring the many rings, necklaces and earrings the shop had to offer. Neither said a word as each was fantasizing about the many possible outcomes and options each item had. The two were brought out of their daydream when the shop owner had approached them.

"See anything you like?" the man asked as he approached them. The two looked from the window to the man.

"We were just admiring the items in the window." Rei answered politely.

"Planning for the future?" the man said with a wink. The two knew what he was talking about and blushed.

"We…we haven't talked about that yet" Shinji stammered out.

"Well, in that case." the man smiled "please come inside, there is something I wish to show you." he continued and opened his shop door, inviting the two inside. They followed. Once inside the shop keeper closed the door behind him and walked behind the counter, gesturing to a portrait of a woman behind him.

"This is my late wife." he began, his tone more serious. "She passed away 3 years ago today. It was her dream to open this shop. At first I was opposed to the idea, a man selling jewels, but it meant a lot to her so I helped her. " the man paused for a moment. "She said she wanted to see all the young people happy, and the happiest moment in every couples life is when they find that one person who is precious to them. Sometimes others will try and test your bonds, but you shouldn't let them succeed in breaking them."

The two nodded as the man spoke, having a strong feeling what he was talking about. Rei couldn't help but squeeze Shinjis hand tighter, Shinji in turn gave hers a reassuring squeeze. Then the man smiled as he noticed the time. "Well, it seems I have kept you long enough, I must close shop now." he said as he walked them too the door. "I hope we shall meet again"

"Thank you sir." Rei spoke, bowing slightly as the two exited the small shop. The two continued walked down the street. Though the old mans words still lingered in Reis mind. She couldn't help but think that some how he knew that there was going to be a trial of some kind to test hers and the Third Child's relationship.

"Are you ok Rei-chan?" Shinji asked, seeing her deep in thought.

"Yes, Shinji-kun I was just thinking." she replied with a smile as she squeezed his hand a little.

"About what?" he asked.

"I don't know, something the shop keeper said. It was like he knew something is going to happen.." Rei told him, a hint of worry in her voice. Shinji thought about what she had said and had felt the same way.

Shinji came to a stop, causing her to stop as well. He then looked her in the eyes before he spoke, taking both her of hands to his own. "Rei-chan, I promise I will not let anyone come between us, not even my father." he vowed. These words alone lifted her spirit and comforted her. At the same time she blushed.

"Thank you Shinji-kun. " she replied. "I also promise not to let anyone come between us" she smiled.

The two finished making their way to Reis apartment. When the two arrived they found a small duffle bag at the door with a note attached to it. Shinji picked up the note and looked at it curiously, then opened it. It read;

_Shinji-kun,_

_I am assuming you will be staying at Ayanamis place again so _

_I packed some clean cloths for you for school tomorrow. I wont _

_Be home tomorrow; I will be going out with Kaji and Asuka _

_Will be at Hikaris tonight and tomorrow. _

_Misato_

_P.S. I left something in the bag for you. Don't do anything I _

_Would do._

Shinji sighed as he crumpled up the note. He could only guess what items she had left in the bag for him, knowing her sense of humor. But he was glad that she trusted him enough to be alone with Rei. Picking up the bag he slung it over his shoulder.

"Guess I am staying with you again tonight." He commented with a smile. Rei smiled at this. She enjoyed it when ever he stayed over, which recently has been a lot more so from her requests. She felt safe and comfortable when he stayed over. Rei fumbled in her pockets for the door key, she had begun locking it recently after Shinji had voiced his concern about someone breaking in or waiting for her to return. Finding the key she proceeded to unlock the door and led the way in, Shinji closing it behind them.

**Next Day**

It had become a normal occurrence to see Shinji and Rei coming to school together. It had become common knowledge that he had been staying at her apartment regularly, much thanks to Asukas big mouth. This only incited more teasing from Toji and Kensuke, and of course Misato was no help when Shinji had found the condom she had placed at the bottom of the duffle bag; he mentally made a note to chew her out the next time he saw her. As soon as they had walked onto the school grounds Aida and Suzuhara immediately surrounded the couple, each taking one side of them.

"So you two have an exciting evening?" Toji teased.

"It was pleasant" Rei answered. Over the course of the last two weeks Rei had warmed up to the two and often spoke with them, though hardly ever without Shinji being there as well. The four continued to chat idly amongst themselves as they finished walked to the class room, just in time for the bell to ring. Asuka and Hikari were the last to arrive. Each taking their seats they awaited the teacher to continue the days lesson. The first half the of the school day dragged on as the teacher droned on continuously about life before the Second Impact, finally salvation came in the form of the lunch break. While Asuka and Hikari made their way to the roof to eat their lunch; Shinji, Rei, Toji, and Kensuke chose a spot just along the wall outside. The four sat amongst them selves talking, even Rei sounding more cheerful as she described the movie her and Shinji saw the previous night.

"You know Ikari, I am surprised." Aida spoke.

"What for?" Shinji asked.

"Dude, you turned Ayanami into a completely different person." Toji butted in with a laugh.

The four continued to talk through most of the lunch break until Reis cell phone rang. Immediately when she answered it she reverted back to her old self, answering the caller in her mono tone voice. As many times as Shinji had seen her do this, it still caught him off guard that she could be smiling and laughing one minute and the next be void of all emotion. Hanging up the phone Rei let out a solemn sigh.

"I have to report to Nerv." she informed the group.

"What? Why?" Shinji asked.

"No reason was given, except that I am to report immediately." she answered. She then smiled to Shinji "I will see you during the tests today" she snuck a quick peck on his cheek before getting up and leaving the school grounds. This however only incited more teasing from Aida and Suzuhara. Shinji however felt uneasy about her phone call and knew it couldn't be anything good.

**Commanders Office**

As soon as Rei arrived at Nerv she was directed to report to the commanders office. Stepping inside the large doors she could see the Commander sitting at his desk, his hands folded in their usual position. Taking a quick glance around the room she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, except for a single item on the desk that looked to be a picture frame.

"You wished to see me Commander?" Rei asked, already feeling the butterflies in her stomach. She had a strong feeling that this wasn't a normal meeting between the two, that something had brought this on, however she held her composure.

"Is there a reason to why your apartment door is being locked now?" Gendo asked.

"Shin- Pilot Ikari had voiced his concern for my safety in leaving the door unlocked. It seemed only logical that I should lock it" She almost slipped.

"Indeed" was all the Commander said, pausing for a moment. "Then what is your logical explanation for this?" he gestured towards the picture in the frame. Rei could see it now, it was the photo of her and Shinji at the dance.. At that moment, Rei felt betrayed by the commander. He had ordered others to break into her apartment.

She didn't answer right away, but decided to play it cool. "That is from the school dance, Pilot Ikari invited me to go."

"It was not necessary for you to partake." Gendo quickly pointed out.

"No, but it would have been rude of me to decline." Rei offered as an answer.

"That is the dress I bought you for when we were to have dinner together, and yet you never wore it until now. Why is this?"

"It was a formal event, our dinners were not." the young pilot pointed out, catching Gendo at his own game. She then began to wonder how much longer she could dodge his true question.

"It had also come to my attention that the Third Child has been also visiting your apartment and staying the night frequently." Gendo suddenly asked, catching Rei off guard. How was she going to logically explain this, that he sleep walks?

Rei inwardly sighed, there was no hiding it from this question. Taking a deep breath she looked straight at the commander. "Shinji-kun and I are dating." she admitted.

Gendo stared at her for a few moments before speaking. "You will end this immediately." he ordered.

For the first time, Rei felt something she had never felt towards this man, anger and hatred. Why. Why was he commanding her to do such a thing. "Why?" she found herself asking.

Gendo was taken aback by her sudden question. "It is unnecessary and will only distract you of what is important."

"And if I were to say that it wouldn't?" she chanced to hope that he would rethink his command. He didn't.

"Regardless, you will end your relationship with the Third Child. He is unstable and cowardly and will abandon you as soon as things become to much for him."

Anger and hatred again began to rise up inside her. "No." she stated. "No, I will not do what you command."

"If you do not do as I command you will no longer be able to pilot Eva." he grinned, playing his ace card. He had saw to it that Eva was her main purpose in life.

Rei looked up in shock. He wouldn't. "W-what?"

"If you refuse to follow orders you are no longer capable of piloting Eva. You must decide what is more important to you." Gendo smiled, he was working her into a corner in which there would only be one way out. His way.

Rei stood there, staring in disbelief at what the commander was doing. The man she had trusted and respected was forcing her to choose between her purpose and her love.

'_Why is he doing this?'_

'_To pilot Eva is my purpose, it is all I have ever known'_

'_Until Shinji-kun came, he showed me new things that I did not understand.'_

'_I love Shinji-kun'_

She then remembered the previous day when her and Shinji were browsing around the shops, when they had come across that small jewelry shop. She remembered what the shop keeper had said to them about his wives dream, warning them that such an event would occur.

"_She said she wanted to see all the young people happy, and the happiest moment in every couples life is when they find that one person who is precious to them. Sometimes others will try and test your bonds, but you shouldn't let them succeed in breaking them."_

Then her thoughts shifted to the promise that Shinji had made to her after that.

"_Rei-chan, I promise I will not let anyone come between us, not even my father."_ he had told her.

Finally she realized her own promise to him.

"I also promise not to let anyone come between us" though she spoke it aloud is was hardly a whisper. Her eyes then moved to the picture of her and Shinji. She saw herself happy with him, something she had never felt, even while piloting Eva. She then made her choice. Reaching into her pocket she fumbled around until she had found what she was looking for, pulling out her Nerv ID she throw it onto the desk. Her actions had completely knocked Gendo off guard, he had not expected this, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Very well Rei, in doing this you will no longer receive aid from Nerv, you are to vacate your apartment by tomorrow morning."

Rei simply nodded then turned to walk out the door, she stopped about half way before spinning back around, walking up to the desk she snatched the photo and stated. "This is mine"

"One more thing Rei." Gendo said as Rei stopped and looked back at him. "Leave the dress."

"Understood," Rei replied as she walked away. "Though I don't think it would as good on you." she smiled.

Fuyutsuki who had been standing there the entire time had to gather every ounce of will power not to laugh at the thought of Gendo wearing the evening dress, though part of the idea made him a little queasy.

**Sync Tests**

"Alright you two, suit up and meet in the Eva cages so I can go over the procedures for this test." Akagi ordered the two pilots who had just arrived. Shinji had arrived first, more so because he wanted to see Rei again. The rest of the school day seemed to have felt longer with her not there. While Asuka wanted to tease Shinji about his excitement, she thought better of it considering where they were, so she had decided to make up for it on the way home. Soon both were in the plug suits waiting in the Eva cages. Shinji was disappointed when he got there, Rei wasn't there. Before long Ritsuko entered the large room and began to go over the procedures of the tests, though the two pilots could hardly see the reason why she had to tell them. The only ones doing any different were those monitoring the tests. Evidently Ritsuko had caught on to what the pilots were thinking.

"….And why in the hell am I telling you this." She sighed. "Ok, into your entry plugs, we will start immediately."

The two did so without question, though Shinji was still worried. Rei still wasn't here. He had never known Rei to miss a sync test. He had a strong feeling something wasn't right. Asuka must have had the same feeling Shinji did.

"Hey, where Wonder girl, isn't she supposed to be here too?" Asuka asked.

"Yeah, where is Rei, its unusual for her not to be here." Misato added.

"Rei is no longer with Nerv." the Commander stated as he strode into the tests room. "Now, proceed with the tests. I will not tolerate any delays." This however didn't happen as many of the staff gasped in shock and the two remaining pilots began yelling for an explanation.

"THE MATTER DOES NOT CONCERN YOU!" Gendo shouted, everyone falling silent immediately.

"YOU HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT DIDN'T YOU FATHER!" It was more of a statement then a question. Gendo placed his cold eyes on the screen that held the image of Shinji.

"No, you did." he said accusingly. "Further more, any interaction with the First Child will be deemed treason against Nerv."

"WHAT?" both Shinji and Asuka exclaimed.

"Is that understood?" Gendo ignored the questions.

"No, its not. Why would you order such a thing?"

"Because it is necessary."

**Somewhere, Tokyo 3**

Rei wandered the streets of Tokyo 3. She had already gathered her items from her old apartment and had been spending the majority of the time considering her options of what to do. Upon her dismissal from Nerv her cell phone had immediately been turned off so she had no way to contact Shinji to inform him of what had happened. She was so lost in her thoughts that she had not noticed where she had wandered to until a familiar voice called out to her.

"What brings you back here?" the man said.

Rei looked up to see the shop keeper of the jewelry store standing in front of her a few paces away.

"I left Nerv." she simply stated, shifting the weight of her items so they were more comfortable.

The man saw this. "Why don't you come inside, I'll get you some tea." he invited her.

"Thank you."

Rei entered the shop and followed the man behind the counter into the next room.

"You can set your things on the counter over there, I am sure its been quiet a burden." the man said as he set to work preparing the tea as he filled the pot with water and set it on the stove so that it could come to a boil. Rei did as she was instructed , then sat down at the table.

"So, would you care to talk about it." The man offered.

"Pardon me, but what is your name?" Rei suddenly asked. She had realized that he had never introduced himself and did not feel comfortable in discussing such things to a person she didn't even know their name.

"My name?" the man asked. "My name is Kaworu Nagisa." he introduced himself. "And yours?"

"Rei Ayanami." she simply answered.

"Well, Ayanami-san, would you like to talk about what happened?"

"The commander had tried to force me to leave Shinji-kun" she began, almost in tears as she remembered the events. "When the commander would not listen, I left Nerv, in doing so all my funds and housing aid was canceled."

"I see." Kaworu thought a moment before continuing. "So you have no place to stay and no money."

By now the water was already boiling as the whistle from the pot sounded. Getting up from the table Kaworu grabbed two mugs from the cupboard and filled them with the hot tea. He then set one mug in front of Rei and the other where he was sitting. Turning he grabbed the sugar and honey, setting them on the table as well.

"That is correct" Rei answered, almost ashamed to do so.

"Very well." he said. "I happen to have a spare apartment you can have."

"But how will I pay for it?" Rei questioned. As she took a sip of her tea.

"That is what I was going to get to next. You can work in the shop part time after school to pay for rent and earn yourself some spending cash.

"What would I have to do?"

"Simple, keep the shop clean and look after it while I am gone. Its rather tiresome running this place by myself, so I would gratefully accept the help.

"That would be, acceptable."

"Good, we have an agreement then." The two had finished the tea and Kaworu had shown her , her new apartment so that she could get settled in. It was a lot nicer then her old one and more furnished, complete with a full living room set. Everything was either white or a light blue with made it look like it was made just for her.

"Now, don't worry about starting today, today you should go and spend the time with your boyfriend. I am sure he is already worried about you."

"Thank you Nagisa-san" Rei bowed and hurried out the door.

**Nerv**

"Necessary for you, but not for me" Shinji spat as he looked up at his father in the monitor.

"Shinji, I do not have time for this, if you will not do as you are ordered, then leave. You are of no use to me."

Shinji sat in the entry plug for a few minutes, he could feel almost everyone's eyes on him waiting to see what he would do. Though most of the staff felt what the commander had said was too harsh and didn't agree with his orders. He then smiled as he made up his mind.

"Sorry Asuka, it seems I am no longer needed here." he stated as he pressed the eject button. Asuka was speechless at the events that had occurred. Shinji exited the plug and was making his way towards the exit.

"So, you will sacrifice humanity for a girl" Gendo stated with disappointment in his voice.

Shinji stopped and turned to look up at the window where his father stood, peering down at him. "What's the point in defending a world in which love is forbidden?" he shot back at his father.

"I suspect we will not see each other again." the commander said as he turned to the remaining pilot who was still in her Eva, her own thoughts at war with her.

"I intend to keep it that way." Shinji retorted and left the room, making his way to the locker room.

Meanwhile back in the Eva cages Asuka was still trying to decide what to do, her pride wanted her to stay and pilot Eva, but her logic told her that Shinji was right. Why should they risk their lives battling the Angels if they were not allowed to love. Though she never thought of her self as a romantic, she didn't think it was right what the commander was asking.

"Very well, as of now any contact with the First or Third Child will be an act of treason, the penalty is death." the commander stated. This was the last straw for Asuka and for a few of the others as well. Asuka slammed down her eject button, ejecting the entry plug.

"Asuka, what are you doing!?" Akagi yelled.

Asuka ignored her for a moment as she removed her berets from her hair, the symbol of her pride and threw them to the ground. "Shinji is right." was all she said as she walked out the door. At the same time Misato, Aoba, Hyuga and Fuyutsuki also left.

"Where are you going?" The commander asked.

"I quite" Fuyutsuki simply stated as he walked out the door. Dropping his ID card on the ground as he did so. The other three followed suite, each dropping their cards on the ground as the walked out. Eventually the only ones who were left in the room were Gendo, Akagi, and Maya. Though after some thoughts Maya too got up and left.

"This was not part of the scenario." Gendo stated as he looked around the now empty room. Things had not gone as he had expected them to. Akagi stood beside him, gazing out the large window at the three empty Evas. They were now defenseless against any attack.

'_I should have just kept my mouth shut about Rei.'_ she silently thought to herself. She then looked to the Commander who was lost in his own thoughts about what had just happened.

"Perhaps we should have just let them be." she ventured to say, preparing for some sort of retaliation. This shock Gendo out of his thoughts.

"Perhaps." He said after a long pause, he then looked at her. "How did this happen?"

This question somewhat caught Akagi off guard. Thinking it over she came to the only answer she could think of.

"She feel in love." a young male voice answered from behind them from the shadows, causing the two to spin around in panic. They had not heard the young boy approach, so his sudden announcement startled the two. "Despite all your efforts to lock her away and keep her secluded, void of any emotion your son erased all of that."

"What do you know of this?" Gendo demanded. To answer this the young boy stepped out of the shadows. He was about Shinjis age, but with gray hair. However the one thing that really caught Akagis attention was his crimson eyes, the same as Reis. "What is your purpose here?" Gendo shot a second question before the boy could answer the first.

"I know that Rei-chan and Shinji-kun are in love. And that they had vowed not to let anyone take that away from them. I see that you have tried and failed." the boy began with a smile as he spoke in a soft, almost angelic voice. "As for my purpose, I am simply here to bring my Mother home."

"Your mother?" Akagi asked.

"Yes, Lilith." was the boys response.

"An Angel!" Gendo hissed.

"Please, call me Tabris, however Shinji-kun and Rei-chan know me as Kaworu."

**Meanwhile, in the Geofront**

Shinji exited the main building, back in his usual slacks and dress shirt. He was still fuming about what had happened. He knew his father to be selfish but he didn't think that the man would go that far. Almost as if his father had gone out of his way to make his life miserable. But he was surprised to hear the Rei had left Nerv and chose to be with him over Eva, this brought a smile to his face.

"Shinji, wait up?" Asuka called as she ran out the doors towards him.

"I'm not coming back this time Asuka. I'm sorry." he said as he turned to face her.

"Baka, stop apologizing, you finally showed some spine facing your father." she said with a playful slap to the back of his head. "I'm proud of you for that." she smiled

"Asuka?" Shinji looked at her confused. This wasn't the Asuka he knew. "Aren't you going to yell at me for running away again?"

"Why should I?"

"Well because now you're the only Eva pilot they have, wont the work load be hard on you?"

"Yes, it would be. If I was still an Eva pilot." she commented, a slight hint of regret in her voice but she felt she had made the right decision.

"What? You left too?" Shinji was shocked to say the least.

Asuka only nodded, then answered "So did a few others"

"But why?"

"Because of you." she answered. "You told the truth."

"What truth?" Shinji was still confused about everything, he thought he had only left to be with Rei.

"You really are an idiot at times you know that." she laughed. "the truth that there is no point in defending a world in which you can not love in." she continued. This caused Shinji to blush a little.

Asuka then did something that Shinji didn't see coming. Without no warning she brought him into a hug. "Shinji. I..I love you. I just wanted to tell you that, you know in case the world ends" she said, trying her best to sound humorous, stumbling over her own words. This of course was about the same time Rei had arrived.

"Shinji-kun?" Rei asked, a little hurt by what she was seeing. She was about to run away when Asuka reached out and grabbed her wrist. At first Rei wanted to slap her, but held back when Asuka brought Shinji and her hand together.

"I guess there is someone I need to go talk to." Asuka said, then left the two alone.

Rei watched Asuka disappear over the small hill then turned to Shinji. "What was that about?" she asked.

Shinji stood there a moment and thought about it. "I think Asuka gave us her blessing." was the only conclusion he could come up with. He then looked at Rei and brought her closer to him into a warm embrace. "I'm very proud of you Rei. You stood up to my father." he smiled to her.

"I made a promise." She smiled back.

"There you two are." a males voice stated. The two looked over at a young gray haired boy approaching them, dressed in a similar fashion as Shinji. There was something very familiar about the boy, though they didn't know how he reminded them of the jewel shop keeper. "A friend of yours asked me to give you this" the boy said, producing a small envelope handing it to Shinji.

Looking at the envelope for a second then to the boy who handed it to him Shinji opened it to see what was inside. There were two slips of paper. The first was a letter written to them. It read;

_Ayanami and Ikari,_

_When you receive this letter it means that my time has come_

_And my purpose here fulfilled. I leave the shop to you two_

_I know you will take good care of it and follow my wifes_

_Dream just as I have. There is a bright future ahead for_

_You, so don't worry about me, I will still be watching you._

_Kaworu_

"What does this mean?" Shinji asked.

"There will be no more Angel attacks, man kind has earned its right to remain here." the boy answered with a smile, a aura of light out lining his body.

"Yo-your, you're Angel!" Shinji exclaimed.

"Yes, my name is Tabris, But you know me as Kaworu." he began to explain, at this time Rei felt a small amount of betrayal again, for putting her trust in him. "But do not worry. My purpose here was to see if the human race should be allowed to continue. And both of you have shown me why it should.

"What? How?"

"With your love, you two have shown that you will stand by each other despite the odds or trials. That takes real courage." the boy smiled again "Oh, and Shinji-kun, take this" he said as he tossed Shinji a key to a safety deposit box. "Use what you find inside for a special occasion"

Shinji caught the key and looked at it a little confused. "But what about the shop?"

"The shop is now yours, the paper work is in your hands right now.."

Rei smiled and bowed to the boy "Thank you Nagisa-san"

With that the boy faded away, leaving the two alone again. Shinji didn't know why but he had a feeling everything was going to be alright. Looking to Rei he smiled again and led her off the hill to lead her home, thought half way there Rei took the lead and led him to THEIR new apartment.

The next day a handful of the personal came back to Nerv HQ to check up on things and to clean out anything that they had left behind when they left. There was no trace of the commander or Dr. Akagi, all the was found was two pools of an orange substance under what appeared to be the twos clothing. When they had attempted to notify Seele of the disappearance they discovered that the same was found at each of the committees residences. Further investigations showed that Lilith had also disappeared and any trace of Adam. Fuyutsuki was the most puzzled about this, but noted that since Lilith was no longer here it meant that the war was over, mankind had survived somehow, though he couldn't help but think it had something to do with Shinji and Rei.

**Six Months Later**

It had been six months since the war had been officially ended. True to Kaworu's word, no more Angels attacked. It seemed strange at first to the former pilots with things being so peaceful. Shinji and Rei kept busy running the shop that was left to them. Meanwhile Toji and Hikari had started dating and to everyones surprise so had Asuka and Kensuke though the poor otaku still couldn't dance. It was today that the six had decided to have a picnic on top of the hill in the park just outside of the school grounds. Each brought something to share with the group. For the most part they chatted about the 'old days' when things were always hectic and in chaos. Eventually though, each couple had to go their separate ways, soon leaving just Shinji and Rei watching the setting sun as it dipped below the horizon. It was at this time that Shinji pulled a small box from his pocket. Rei watched him curiously as he dropped down to one knee in front of her, opening the box, it exposed a brilliant three diamond, white gold ring. Rei gasped when she saw it.

"Rei-chan, will you marry me?" he asked, as nervous as he was he had managed to ask this question without faults. Rei was breathless for a few seconds before nearly tackling him to the ground.

"Yes, I will Shinji-kun" she replied, sealing it with a deep kiss before he had a chance to say anything else. After a moment they broke the kiss so Shinji could finish putting the ring on her finger. Intertwining his fingers with her he smiled, using his free hand to brush the bangs out of her eyes. Cupping his hand along her cheek, slowly bringing her down for another kiss.

**One Year Later**

It was a joyous day for everyone who had gathered for this event. Most of everyone who worked with Nerv showed up to witness the occasion as it was Shinjis and Reis wedding day. Shinji had chosen Toji to be the best man and Rei asked Asuka to be her maid of honor. The wedding was not a large one, it was simple and small. After the ceremony both the bride and groom mingled together with the guests. Of course Misato was already drunk, slurring all over Kaji. Then the two saw something that had surprised them, a faint image of a gray haired boy in the distance, with one wave the boy disappeared. The two smiled and waved back, knowing who it was, each saying a silent thanks to the Angel..

Later that night the two returned to their apartment, along with the gifts they had received from the wedding, though most of it they really didn't know what to do with. After putting the items down, Rei immediately tackled Shinji, covering his lips with her own. She allowed him to get up only to drag him into the bedroom, closing the door behind them.

End

**Authors Notes**

Well there it is, the final installment of this trilogy. I hoped everyone enjoyed it. Now I am sure a lot of you are thinking that Shinji and Rei got it on in the end, well it is their honeymoon so think what you would like. Will I be writing a lemon for this fic? No, I want to keep this pure. Anyways I am out, hope everyone has a great day!

**Disclaimer**

I do not claim any ownership over Neon Genesis Evangelion or any of its characters. Gainax does and its respected affiliates.


End file.
